"Gourahari Das Kathalu " ( A Review in English)

 Translation from Oriya to Telugu has not been new and going on from many decades and Puripanda Appalaswamy, an iconic translator was known for his brilliant translation work of Gopinath Mohanty's Amrutha santanam and Kalindi charan Panigrahi's novels into Telugu. In the same way Dr.U.V.Narasimha Murthy translated the poetry of Jayanta Mahapatra and Pratibha Ray's Yajnaseni was also brought in recently. Everybody knew about Nikhileswar's translations of Seetakant Mahapatra.

And now here, another master piece "Gourahari Das Kathalu" came into Telugu, rendered by well known translator Murthy Kvvs. Gourahari Das is a foremost story teller from the soil of Orissa. Most acclaimed writer and he received many coveted laurels including Sahitya Academy Award. Well, coming to the translator, Murthy Kvvs is synonymous with Mario Puzo's magnum opus "The God Father". Though he translated many other works, his name popular with such one.

Now Murthy has come up with 13 stories of Gourahari Das. Translation stlye is expressive and reader friendly. In nutshell, simple and lucid. Titles of stories like Gajubomma, tanDri, Kasinda chettu, Illu, Ekumeku, Ahalya pelli, Bangarapu mukka, Saripoyindi, Urmila,Neramu siksha, Maya vruksham, Chinna pantulu. All the stories filled with warmth and tender human aspect. Every Story begins and ends with a precision of special strategy. The reader gets teary eyed and electrified with many unspoken thoughts.

Each story encompasses the intricate feelings of human relations at the level of  individual and society. And the writer's anguish to set right things is evident all along. Stories like Illu, Bangarapu mukka, Saripoyindi, Urmila, Chinna pantulu are really outstanding and on par with international standards in every way. Illu Story will haunt the reader all along the life. Human emotions especially the identity crisis in the senior citizens portrayed in a subtle way. Exactly that quality made this story an unforgettable piece of work.

Each of us would behold our own reflections in all the stories, sometimes which could be good and sometimes bad, the dual role inside. And the same time , there is a stream of thoughts felt flowing in us. That special quality made Gourahari Das apart from others. A master story teller can only create and carve a character like Anupam, the bureaucrat in Saripoyindi story. 

Urmila story is all about an ill fated woman. In her school days, she was a beautiful flamboyant sort girl, always kept teasing the hero or protagonist , in return, he was cursing her to astray. After failing in exams, her life took worst ever turns like eloping with a Tantric and she surfaced in a hospital after some years as a poor paramedic. Protagonist asked her whether she was his classmate but she refused to reveal her identity as her life was doomed. But she kept crying behind the shutting doors. With flashing their nostalgia, the reader too get tearful and resolved to get there to solace her.

Translator Murthy Kvvs deserved our heart felt appreciation as he brought in these moving diverse stories of Gourahari Das. That too, without losing the original flavor of Oriyan culture and ethos. Let the more of it come in the future.

( Reviewed in Telugu by Muralidhar Alajangi in Disha news paper and translated into English by Murthy Kvvs)